Sometimes, it’s what’s left in the fridge that dictates the direction that supper is going to take. This has pretty much been the case all week. Looks like I got a bit carried away when I bought vegetables last week and ended up having to use quite a large amount this week… well, for a single person, that is.

You see, I think I am a bit of a sale maniac. I tend to buy things sometimes just because they are on sale. Can’t miss out on a great bargain! So when I see gorgeous, fresh, plump and colourful bell peppers going for $1.99 a pound, I simply can’t resist buying way more than what I know I will be able to eat in a week. It’s like I HAVE to get at least 2 of each colour. No matter how much I try, I just CAN’T resist. I mean come on! Bell peppers usually go for 2 or 3 times that amount, you know! 😉

And of course, well, same goes for mushrooms, broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes… you get the idea!

Sometimes though, being forced to use certain ingredients is a beautiful thing, as it gives life to delightful creations, as was the case with this pasta dish. I don’t think I would’ve ever come up with this exact combination had it not been for the fact that I had to use those particular veggies. I had also planned on throwing some grilled tofu in there, but ended up forgetting. D’oh!

Mind you, it wasn’t all that necessary, the dish was extremely good and tasty as it was, but I find I am not eating enough protein lately, and adding tofu certainly would’ve helped in that department.

Oh well… now I will HAVE to use that tofu in the next dish that I make, else, I will end up having to chuck it. And, as I’ve said before, I hate wasting food. I sometimes wish they sold tofu in smaller packages… Now I will have to get creative, once again! 😉

INGREDIENTS(serves 2-3)

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

1 orange bell pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper, oregano and za’atar, to taste

175g – 200g whole wheat rotini

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped

20g – 30g goat cheese, crumbled

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook pasta per instructions on the package. When cooked, drain and return to pot.

Fire up your BBQ

Slice aubergine and zucchini in thick slices, about 1″.

Cut bell pepper in half, seed it and smash it to make it as flat as possible.

Brush vegetables on both sides with a little bit of olive oil then sprinkle generously with salt, black pepper, oregano and za’atar.

Grill vegetables on BBQ on medium-high heat until they get nice grill marks on them, about 4-5 minutes per side

BRAIN! I do not care for fish served that way. Don’t ever let me do this again! If I ever feel the need to give it another try and start to argue with you when you try to be nice and dissuade me, here is a list of arguments that you can use to bring me back to reason:

First, you really don’t appreciate having the fish’s head, tails, bones and skin on your plate

Well, once I remove all of that, I’m fine…

You DESPISE fish bones. Whole fish are LOADED with bones. Heck, they are NOTING BUT fish bones.

But, but, the flesh is so tender and it tastes so good when cooked that way

You’ve always hated leaving scraps on the side of your plate, be it only a bay leaf. And you want to deal with a COMPLETE CARCASS? Come on! Do you REALLY want to do that again?

Well… I could always use a separate plate for the scraps…

Whole fish still have their skin on. Gooey, STICKY SKIN. You don’t like fish skin. It makes all the bones and scales stick to your fingers. It drives you MAD.

I mean seriously… look at this poor little fella. He was so cute before I cooked him… now he just plain scares me. He did, however, taste incredibly good!

So that’s it! End of the road for me as far as pan frying whole fish goes. From now on, I’ll stick to fillets. (I will however make an exception for the big guys that are too big to fit in a pan and need to be baked in the oven. At least they don’t make it to my plate with their head still attached!)